Cross My Heart
by Baleful Eyes
Summary: "Cross my heart, hope to die, eat a thousand needles if I lie." Madoka and her childhood friend promise to one day meet again. All alone, Madoka wishes for the strength she needs to carry on, and suddenly two shugo chara appear to help her along the way. Madoka eventually moves back to her old town, where she makes new friends and joins them on their mission to stop Easter.
1. If I Lie

"Have you heard anything from him yet?"

"No."

"Don't blame yourself, Shinobu."

"How can I not? Because of me my four-year-old daughter has no father."

"Don't talk like that! He left because he's a coward! That isn't _your _fault."

"Okāchan?"

"N-Nadeshiko-chan."

"What's wrong?"

"Mama, when's Papa coming back?"

"I… I don't know, Madoka-chan. Just… just wait a little longer."

"Nadeshiko-chan, why don't you and Madoka-chan go play inside."

"Aw, okay, Okāchan."

"That's a good girl."

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

"Nadeshiko-chan, I miss you," Madoka said.

"I miss you too, Madoka-chan."

Madoka sniffled, trying to hold back tears. "I-I'm scared… I'm lonely. I want to go back home."

"It will be all right, Madoka-chan," Nadeshiko assured her. "E-even though you're gone, we're still friends. A-and we'll see each other again some day." Nadeshiko may have been pretending to be a girl, but her friendship with Madoka was real.

"Promise?" said Madoka.

"Promise."

"We have to swear on it, Nadeshiko-chan," Madoka insisted.

Nadeshiko nodded, as if she thought that Madoka would be able to hear her over the phone. She began to recite a rhyme. "C-cross my heart…"

Madoka continued the next phrase for her. "Hope to die…"

The two were silent for a moment before they finished the last part together. "Eat a thousand needles if I lie."

"You see?" said Nadeshiko. "I-it's a promise, then. You'll make a lot of friends in first grade, so be happy. Don't… don't cry."

"Your crying, Nadeshiko-chan."

Nadeshiko laughed. "I guess I am.  
"Then we'll just have to be strong, okay, Madoka-chan? You and me. We'll be strong."

"…Yeah."

"I have to go now. Goodbye. I miss you!"

"I miss you, too. Bye-bye, Nadeshiko-chan."

Hearing the click coming from the other end, Madoka hung up her own phone. Be strong. It seemed like forever ago, but Madoka could remember Nadeshiko's mother tell that to her own mother. "Be strong, Shinobu. Your daughter needs you to be strong."

"So maybe… maybe I need to be strong… for Nadeshiko-chan! And for Kāchan!" Madoka ran to the window, and saw a single star shining brightly in the sky.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember the poem Nadeshiko had once shown her. Nadeshiko's mother used to study abroad for her dancing, and had brought a book of English poems and nursery rhymes back with her. She had translated them for Nadeshiko, and Nadeshiko had shown the translations to Madoka.

Then the words came to her. Madoka opened her eyes and carefully recited them, holding tightly onto her teddy bear all the while.

_Star light, star bright_

_The first star I see tonight;_

_I wish I may, I wish I might_

_Have the wish I wish tonight._

"I wish… I wish I could be strong."

"Madoka-chan, are you still awake?" came her mother's voice. "You need to get to bed! You have your first day of school tomorrow."

"Sorry Kāchan! I'm going now!"

~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~

"Madoka-chan, it's time to get up," said Watanabe Shinobu. "Your school uniform is in your drawer, and I'm making breakfast right now. Do you want me to help you get dressed?"

"No, I'm not a baby, Kāchan!" Madoka insisted.

Her mother giggled. "Of course not. You're in the first grade now. Well, you get dressed, but make sure that you come down in a few minutes, okay."

"Okay!"

Madoka stretched and stepped out of bed. She turned around to make her bed, but stopped when she noticed two circular objects on her mattress.

"What the heck is this?" Madoka wondered allowed, picking up the objects. She stared curiously at the pale egg with red and yellow flames covering its lower half, and then at the white egg with blue icicle-like spikes covering its top half. "Eggs? Do people lay eggs? …I don't think so."

"Madoka-chan, are you getting dressed?"

"Uh, yeah, Kāchan! I'll be down in a minute!" Madoka quickly changed into her school uniform and grabbed the eggs, stuffing them into her pockets.

"What are you?" Madoka wondered later that day when she arrived home, setting the eggs down on her bed.

_I'm what you wished for._

"Huh?"

_And me, too!_

There was a cracking sound, and Madoka gasped, backing up and realizing that the eggs were hatching.

"It's nice to be out!" said a small voice. "It was dark in there!"

"Who said that?"

"Me!" said a tiny person, flying out from the egg. Madoka had never seen anything like it before. It had short, light blue hair, steel-grey eyes and skin almost as white as snow. It wore a small white and blue snowsuit that almost looked like a snowstorm, and on its cheek was a small snowflake. "What about the other egg? Has it hatched yet?"

"Hatched?" Madoka echoed.

"I'm here, I'm here," came another voice, this one equally as small, but it spoke with steel in its tone.

Out flew another mini-person, this one with dark brown skin, flaming red odango hair, and orange eyes. It wore a yellow dress, the edges fringed as if they had been burnt, and flames like the ones on the egg decorated the bottom of the dress.

"What's going on? What are you?" Madoka said.

"Not what, who!" said the red person.

"We're shugo chara," said the blue.

"Shugo…"

"It's a long story," said the blue one, "but we'll explain it to you. First, let me introduce myself." It bowed respectfully. "My name is Neve."

"And I'm Ignis," said the red one. "He and I…"

The two of them smiled at Madoka, and said, "We're your would-be-selves!"

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

"We're _moving?_"

"Uh-huh."

"You can't be serious, Kāchan!" Madoka exclaimed. "I'm a fifth year student, you want me to transfer schools now? I'm not going to be able to make any friends!"

"Yes you will," her mother assured her. "Besides, I haven't told you where we're moving to yet."

"Does it matter?" said Madoka

"Calm down, just hear her out, Madoka-chan!" Neve urged her.

Madoka sighed, begrudgingly going along with what Neve had suggested. "Fine. Where are we moving."

"Do you remember how you always wanted to go to Seiyu Academy?"

"You mean…" a smile lit up on Madoka's face, but it quickly vanished, "but Nadeshiko-chan… she's studying abroad right now."

"But she'll be back soon," Shinobu told her, "and since she has friends their, I'm sure they'll get along with you, too."

"Thank you, Kāchan," Madoka's said as she wrapped arms around her mother.

"Madoka-chan, what's on your mind?" Neve asked once Madoka's mother had left, noticing that the young girl seemed upset.

"The last time we moved… was when Papa didn't come back," Madoka said, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Oh, come on!" said Ignis. "Don't think like that! This and that are totally different!"

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Madoka said.

"Besides, remember what Nadeshiko-chan told you about the Guardians?" Neve said.

"Oh yeah…"

"I guess that means we're going to be meeting a lot of shugo chara!" Ignis said excitedly.

"Sounds scary."

"Well that's what we're here for," Neve said with a smile.

* * *

**A/N: Spoiler alert (no duh)**

**Well, I'm guessing anyone who has read any of my other stories/oneshots is now thinking something along the lines of "WAAAAH? Jaden, you like shōjo?!" The answer to that is "sometimes", and this is one of those cases. I read the manga, having finished the anime a while ago, and I couldn't help but feel terrible for poor Tadase. Everyone ends up with someone except for Tadase, who forever is in love with Amu and goes back in time to see her. So this is either gonna be a story for Tadase or Nagihiko, who I loves. One of my favorites, next to Eru.**

**Just a little note, "Neve" is pronounced "ne" as in "_ne_ver" and "ve" as in "_vai_n". "Ignis" is pretty much pronounced exactly how it looks; "ig" as in "_ig_loo" and "is" as in "w_is_p".**


	2. Make a Wish

"So, your first day of school is tomorrow," Neve said. "Are you excited?"

"I guess," Madoka said unsurely, taking a lick of her ice cream.

"Well you don't sound very enthusiastic about it," Ignis noted.

Madoka merely shrugged, walking aimlessly through the park as she tried to enjoy her last day of freedom.

"Madoka-chan, look out!" shouted Ignis. Madoka looked behind her, eyes wide when she saw a hoard of X-eggs coming her way. She jumped out of the way, the ice cream she was eating falling to the ground in the process.

Yet the X-eggs went right past Madoka and stopped behind a girl who appeared to be several years older than Madoka.

"Madoka-chan, shouldn't we do something?" Ignis urged her.

"Just wait," said Madoka. "I want to see what's going on first."

Madoka watched, listening in confusion to the conversation the three people in front of her were having. All three seemed to be oblivious to Madoka's presence. Madoka wondered whether or not she should get involved, but once the girl surrounded by X-eggs had done Becoming Character and attacked two people, Ignis made up Madoka's mind for her.

A familiar feeling washed over Madoka's body as she transformed into Wildfire. Her hair was in the same odango style as Ignis', the ponytail part reaching almost to her waist. Her singed, long and flowing dress looked almost exactly liked Ignis', and in her hand was a small, red fan.

"Go, Madoka-chan, go!" Neve told her.

With a wave of her fan, she flew in front of the pink-haired girl, who had been knocked back.

"Are you okay?" Madoka asked the girl. She merely stared wide-eyed at Madoka, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Noticing that she had three shugo chara, Madoka said, "If you can use Becoming Character, I recommend you do it… now."

"Oh, another person!" said a guy on a skateboard. "Which side are you on?"

"Side?" Madoka echoed. "I'm just trying to make sure that girl and the X-eggs don't get anyone killed."

"Okay, then," said the guy. "You and me will take care of the X-eggs. Hinamori, you go and fight to your heart's content. Go and fly!"

"Hey!" the pink-haired girl, Hinamori, shouted.

"If you lose, that'll be twenty laps around the campus!" said the boy.

"Hey!"

"What the heck is going on?" Madoka wondered allowed.

"Just go with it," said Neve, his cool and calm personality never failing him. "We should probably follow that guy and handle the X-eggs."

"Okay, I need you to hold off the X-eggs!" Madoka told the boy once she had caught up with him.

"My name's Soma Kūkai, by the way."

Madoka couldn't help but smile. "Watanabe," was all Madoka said. "Now come on! All I need is a second to get a clear shot at them!"

"Right!"

The two dodged the X-eggs, Kūkai trying to draw their attention towards himself. After about a minute of this, a bright light surrounded both Kūkai and his shugo chara, Daichi. The light faded to reveal Kūkai in what could only be his Becoming Character form.

"Why did I also do a Becoming Character?" Kūkai wondered, starting to freak out. "My heart unlocked, too?"

"Less questions, more fighting!" said Madoka.

Madoka could hear Ignis' voice laughing.

_That's my girl._

"So this is a Becoming Character!" Kūkai marveled. "Awesome! I feel the energy flowing!"

The two fought against the X-eggs until finally Kūkai managed to get them into a position that allowed Madoka to move in for a final attack.

"Combustion!" shouted Madoka. With a wave of her hand, a burst of fire was sent forth, devouring all of the X-eggs.

"You destroyed them!" Kūkai gasped.

"Nope."

The flames died down, revealing the dozens of now purified eggs shining brightly. After a moment, each one flew away to return to its owner.

"Oh, Sanjo's not going to be happy about that," said the devil chara.

"It doesn't matter," said the blonde girl, who Madoka suddenly recognized to be the pop idol Hoshina Utau. Utau raised her hand and pointed it at the pink-haired girl. "I'll finish you off right now."

Before Madoka could move, there was a flash of bright light. When the light had faded, it revealed Utau and the pink-haired girl, both out of their Becoming Character forms.

"The Becoming Character disappeared?" said Kūkai, rushing to his friends side. "Why, Hinamori?"

"I, I don't understand," she admitted. "The powers suddenly disappeared."

"Ran out of battery?" came a voice. Madoka looked to where the voice was coming, spotting a man in a tree. He jumped to the ground, allowing Madoka to get a better look at him. He wore all black and a cross around his neck, and his hair was midnight blue. He looked like the kind of person who would fade into a crowd, his presence easy to miss. "Well, I guess I came just in time."

"Ikuto!" said Hinamori.

"Ikuto," said Utau, "were you watching the whole time?"

"Not really," said Ikuto as he walked passed Utau, towards Hinamori, Kūkai, and Madoka, the latter two now back to normal. "Though I did watch a little from a distance."

Stopping in front of Kūkai, Hinamori and Madoka, Ikuto held out a bag. "Here.  
"Snacks; Utau dropped yours, after all."

"Cold! It's ice cream!" said one shugo chara.

"Ooh, it's Gari Gari Boh!" said another.

"Why?" wondered a third.

"I am so confused right now," Madoka said. "What the heck is going on?"

"Who cares? Ice cream!" said Neve, rushing towards the ice cream.

"Is there wasabi flavor?" Ignis asked, flying after him.

"Whoa! For real?" said Kūkai, opening the bag to look at its contents.

"Could it be, that this is in exchange for the ice cream some time ago, right?" Hinamori asked.

_Does this happen on a regular basis or something?_ Madoka wondered.

"Well then, my bad!" Ikuto said casually.

"Why are you apologizing?" Utau asked.

"That's not the point," said Ikuto. "You apologize, too."

"No."

At this point Madoka zoned out and grabbed an ice cream bar, listening to the shugo chara's conversation on their preferences of ice cream.

"Idiooooooooooooooooooooot!" Utau shouted, catching Madoka's attention once again. She looked to see Utau, who tackled Ikuto. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid Ikuto!"

"Ow, hey, stop, Utau!" Ikuto protested.

"So-somehow…" Hinamori stammered.

"Utau, her character just…" one the shugo chara trailed off.

"What is it?" Utau cried. "What is it? Always Amu, isn't it? I thought you cared about my feelings!"

"Feelings, you—"

Ikuto was interrupted when Utau planted her lips on his.

"Madoka-chan!" Neve shouted over Hinamori and Kūkai's exclamations of surprise. He gulped down the ice cream he'd been chewing and jumped in front of Madoka's face, using his body as a wall. "Don't look, Madoka-chan! Shield your eyes!"

"Aren't you supposed to be the calm one?" Ignis said casually.

"She's too young and innocent to be seeing something like this!" Neve argued.

"Stop it already!" Ikuto shouted after prying Utau off of him.

"Well," said Utau.

"We're siblings after all!" Ikuto protested.

"But…"

"What?" Kūkai and Hinamori shouted simultaneously. "Siblings?"

"Hold on a minute!" Madoka said, grabbing everyone's attention for the moment. Madoka then stood up and grabbed an ice cream bar. She opened it and took a bite, then began to walk away. "Okay, I'm out of here; I've had enough of this. You just continue with what you're doing… whoever you people are…"

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

"A-are you sure this is a good idea, guys?" Madoka asked nervously.

"You heard what your mother said," Neve said. "These are Nadeshiko-chan's friends, they'll be sure to get along with you."

"So instead of waiting around for them to come to you, you have to make the first move, Madoka-chan," said Ignis. "Just be confident."

"And calm," Neve added.

"Confidence and calmness are your things," Madoka pointed out.

"But we're a part of you, remember?" said Ignis. "You have it in you; don't doubt yourself."

"Again, confidence is your thing," Madoka repeated.

"Oh, just do it before one of us chara changes with you!" Ignis insisted.

"Okay, okay," Madoka agreed, not wanting that to happen. Neve's calm personality would be too odd in a situation like this, and could sometimes come off as, well, cold. Ignis was fiery in more ways than one; she was passionate and not afraid to stand up for herself or to express her opinions. Madoka doubted that either of these things would make a good first impression.

Madoka stepped into the Royal Garden, followed by her two chara. She looked around in amazement, awed with what she saw. Nadeshiko had described the Garden to her before, but words could not do it justice.

"Is someone there?" came a voice. Madoka could see that it was coming from a table to her left.

"U-um, yes," Madoka said, approaching the people at the table. There were two boys, both with one shugo chara hovering next to them, and three girls, one of whom Madoka recognized. "You, you're—"

"—You're trespassing!" said one of the shugo chara. He had short, light purple hair and wore attire one would expect to see worn by a king, even a tiny crown resting atop his head. "This is a crime worthy of severe punishment!"

"Hey, you can't talk to us like that!" Ignis shouted.

"Here we go," said Neve, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back to watch the chaos unfold.

"I-Ignis, stop it," Madoka said.

"Are you kidding, he's—"

Madoka grabbed Ignis, covering her mouth before she could get out any insults.

"I apologize," Madoka said with a bow. "My name is Watanabe Madoka, and I realize that I was never granted permission to come here, but I just wanted to… I've heard a lot about the Guardians. I'm a friend of Fujisaki Nade—"

"—Nadeshiko-chiiii!" one of the Guardians lilted, tackling Madoka into a hug. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because you didn't let her finish?" Neve suggested.

Taking another look at one of the boys, Madoka's eyes widened. "Sanjo-kohai?"

"Watanabe-senpai, I had heard that you were transferring here," Sanjo said, adjusting his glasses.

"You two know each other?" said the girl with pink hair.

"Kairi and Madoka-dono went to the same school," Musashi explained.

"You know, Sanjo-san, your friends really miss you," Madoka said with a smile, beginning to feel more comfortable now that she had seen a familiar face.

"Yes," said Sanjo, "I know. I hope to see them soon."

"It's nice to meet you," said the other boy, "and who are these two?"

"I'm Ignis," said the short-tempered shugo chara.

"My name's Neve," Neve replied happily.

"I am Hotori Tadase, King's Chair and a fifth-year student," said Tadase. "This is my shugo chara, Kiseki."

"I'm Yaya!" shouted the girl who had attacked Madoka moments before, "and this is Pepe! I'm a fourth year student!"

"Mashiro Rima," said the smallest girl, taking a sip of her tea.

"Kusukusu!" cheered her shugo chara, spinning around.

"And you're Hinamori, right?" Madoka asked.

"Yes, Hinamori Amu," she answered, "and this is Ran, Miki, and Su."

"Hinamori Amu?" Madoka echoed. "I've heard a lot about you from Nadeshiko. It sounds like the two of you are really good friends."

"You two should get along great, then!" said Ran.

Madoka giggled, finding Ran's enthusiasm endearing.

"Oh, wait, so _you're _the Amu they were talking about," Madoka realized.

"You two know each other?" said Hotori.

"W-well, not really, we um, we just—"

"—We met yesterday, at the park," Madoka explained.

"Yeah, and then that nice guy gave us some ice cream," Neve added. "What was his name again?"

"H-he was n-no one," Amu insisted.

"It doesn't matter, Neve," Madoka said, sensing that Amu wanted to avoid this topic for some reason, "so let's talking about something else instead."

"There are no more positions open in the Guardians, if that's why you're here," Rima stated rather bluntly.

"Um, no, that's not why I'm—"

"—Actually, there are," came a new voice.

Madoka and the others all turned to look at a man who bore a striking resemblance to Tadase. He smiled as he approached the group, his expression seeming both content and carefree.

"Who's this?" Neve wondered allowed.

"My name is Tsukasa," said the man, shocking Neve, who had thought that he could not be seen or heard by this adult.

"Tsukasa-san was the first King," Tadase explained. "Tsukasa-san, what is it you were saying about another position?"

"That's right, there is another position available in the Guardians," Tsukasa said. "The Wildcard."

"You just made that up," Rima said accusingly.

"I'm allowed to," Tsukasa said, causing Rima to scowl at him.

"A new subject to serve under me," said Kiseki. "You've caught my interest; what is it the Wildcard does?"

"The same thing as the Joker," said Tsukasa, gesturing to Amu.

"Seeing as the number of X-eggs has been increasing substantially, that seems like a good idea," said Kairi, adjusting his glasses.

"It's up to you, of course," said Tsukasa.

"I-I don't know," said Madoka.

"Oh, please, please, pleeeeeease, Doka-chi!" Yaya begged.

"'Doka-chi'?" Madoka said unsurely.

"Yeah, come on, you should do it, Madoka-chan!" Ignis agreed.

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" Neve agreed.

"Can she even do Becoming Character?" Rima queried.

"She can," Amu vouched. "I saw her do it myself.  
"So what do you say, Watanabe-san?"

"I guess… I guess I'll do it," Madoka agreed, her spirits beginning to lift.

"Then I guess it's settled," said Tadase. "Welcome to the Guardians."

"Yay!" Yaya cheered.

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

"S-sorry I'm late," Madoka apologized once Yaya answered the door.

"No problem, Doka-chi!" Yaya assured her. "Come on in!"

Madoka took off her shoes and placed them by the door, put on a pair of slippers and then followed Yaya in.

"Hello every—"

Everyone in the room simultaneously shushed Madoka. Madoka blushed, wondering what she had done wrong.

"Apparently Yaya-chan wanted to have the meeting here because she needed help babysitting," Amu explained, pointing to a crib in the room.

"Oh…"

Yaya gestured for Madoka to take a seat at the table with everyone else, and once the two had sat down, the meeting had commenced.

"All right, let's start straight away," Kairi said. "The special Guardian meeting."

"We should whisper," Tadase suggested. "We can't wake the baby up."

"I wonder what it is…" Amu said.

"That is, lately there's been an increased rate of odd activities related to the X-eggs."

"Yeah," Amu agreed, peeling a loquat.

"But this tournaments intermission isn't unknown," Tadase continued.

"I'm also starting to hunt and discover some X-eggs," Rima stated, taking the peeled loquat out of Amu's hands and eating it.

"Wait a minute, who's loquat do you think you're eating?" Amu shouted upon realizing that Rima had stolen her food.

"My fingernail will be dirty," Rima replied.

"Don't eat it!" said Amu.

"Shhhhh!" Madoka and Hotori warned them.

"But you know, if Nikaido-sensei quit Easter," Yaya began. "Then who's preparing such a large amount of X-eggs?"

"Easter?" said Madoka, feeding a piece of her loquat to Neve. "What do they have to do with this?"

"Easter has been drawing out a large number of X-eggs," Amu explained. "Nikaido-sensei used to work for them, and he had been responsible for what was happening."

"Well then who's drawing out all of the X-eggs now?" Madoka wondered.

"Tha-that is…" Amu wondered.

"That's not it!" came a loud voice that caused Madoka to jump, throwing her loquat in the air. Luckily Ignis and Neve managed to catch it. The voice had come from a shugo chara, one who looked like an angel, and had appeared to have come out of nowhere. "Eru's Utau-chan is really a good child! No one knows the joy of collecting X-eggs!"

"Y-you!" said Madoka, recalling the shugo chara from a couple of days ago.

"Wait, Utau?" said Yaya as Eru flew rapidly around in circles. "As in Hoshina Utau? Anyway, whose chara is this?"

One explanation later…

"Eeeeh?! Hoshina Utau's shugo chara?"

"Furthermore, it's running away from home," Kairi noted. "That is an interesting situation."

"Um, there's various…" Eru began, searching her mind for an answer.

"Various what?" Kairi inquired.

"That day at the park," Madoka said, trying to hide her suspicion as she turned to face a nervous Amu. "Just what was—"

Before Madoka could finish her sentence, a loud cry erupted in the room.

"What? What should we do?" said Yaya. "He's crying again! Wh-why? What's wrong?"

"It feels as though society is dissatisfied and is filing a lawsuit against us," Kairi remarked.

"You haven't changed at all, Kohai," Madoka said exasperatedly.

"Could you lift him up?" Rima wondered.

"He's a baby after all!" Amu said, shocked with everyone's reaction to the situation. "…Since there's no mama to soothe this baby, his big sister should carry him."

"There's no way I can stop his crying," Yaya said. Still, she picked him up and tried to calm him, to no avail.

"Madoka-chan, sing him a lullaby!" Neve suggested.

"What?"

"You sing all the time!" Ignis said. "Just do it!"

"I don't know…"

"Doka-chiiiiii, stop the crying!" Yaya demanded.

Blushing, Madoka looked at the floor as she began to sing.

_Nennen korori yo, Okorori yo.  
Bōya wa yoi ko da, Nenne shina~_

_Bōya no omori wa, Doko e itta?  
Ano yama koete, Sato e itta._

_Sato no miyage ni, Nani morotta?  
Denden taiko ni, Shō no fue._

"Oh, he stopped crying..."

"Awesome."

"Wow, good job," Amu said. "I had a lullaby ringtone on my phone, though."

"Hinamori-san! You couldn't have told me this _before _I started singing?" Madoka said.

Amuy chuckled. "You have a pretty voice, Watanabe-san."

Still blushing Madoka said, "You can use '-chan' with me, you know."

Amu smiled. "Same goes to you, Madoka-chan."

"Ah, he's smiling!" said Ran. "His mood has improved!"

"So cute!" Su cooed.

"He's holding my hand!" Amu said.

"Smells like milk," Rima noted.

"What about the meeting?" said Yaya.

"Hmm, that small being quickly went from smiling to crying, very interesting," Kairi noted.

"So, do you want to hold it?" Rima asked Kairi.

"No, not," Kairi was interrupted when Amu gently placed Tsubasa in his hands. "Eh… eh?"

"It's okay," Amu assured him. "You just have to support his neck, like this.  
"See, its not too hard."

"L-like this?" said Kairi. "…K-K-King, it's yours now!" said Kairi, handing the small child to Tadase.

Tadase was caught by surprise, blushing as he stared unsurely at the baby. "Eh? Me? Such… such a thing is… why me?" A second later Tadase's personality had taken a sudden change. "It's unnecessary to cry on the streets of the king!  
"A child's smile is worth all of heaven's riches!"

"Thats dangerous!" Kairi said. "The baby's smiling?"

"Way to go, King?" Amu said unsurely.

"So, this is his Chara Change," Madoka noted, trying to hide her shock.

"Geez, not Tsubasa!" Yaya exclaimed, holding up a picture album. "Tsubasa will never be cuter than Yaya!  
"Lookie here, it's my baby photo album!"

"What?" said Amu. "There's such rivalry…  
"Ah, Yaya was really cute. Similar to Tsubasa-chan."

"Tsubasa and Yaya don't look alike!" Yaya protested.

"Your fourth grade album is different," Rima noted.

"Ah, that's Tsubasa's fault," Yaya explained. "Mama and the other adults were busy with him.  
"Being a baby is great, aside from being cute, a baby can't eat rice, nor use the toilet. Papa and Mama will focus their attention on you.

"Ah, it would be great if Yaya was an only child."

"It's not all that great," said Rima.

"Really?" said Yaya.

"It really isn't," Madoka agreed.

"Joker, Joker!" Kairi shouted.

"What is it?" Amu asked.

"Tsubasa-dono's condition is…"

"Is it his diaper?" Amu asked.

"Ah, no it's…"

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

Tsubasa had been sick, and so the Guardians had rushed the infant over to the house of Yaya's family doctor. Everything had turned out fine, and it seemed Yaya was beginning to like the idea of being an older sister. Rima and Amu were beginning to get closer, and the cold barrier Rima put up was beginning to melt away.

Madoka, however, felt more alone than she ever had before.

"Onedari CD?"

"It's the biggest rumor in school now," Yaya explained. "If you listen to it, you'll get everything you want."

"Oh."

"Is this the CD?" Madoka asked, pulling out a black CD with a white "X" across it. On the CD, the words "Black Diamond" were written.

"Ah, that's it!" Yaya exclaimed. "Where'd you get it?"

"I found it in my backpack," Madoka said. "Someone must have put it there."

"Can Yaya have it once Doka-chi has finished listening to it?" Yaya begged.

"I'm throwing it away."

"Huh?" everyone said in unison.

"Why would you do that, Doka-chiiiii?" Yaya asked. "You're wasting a wiiiish!"

"You can't waste something that doesn't exist," Madoka argued.

"Madoka-chan…" said Neve.

"Uh oh, here we go," Ignis sighed.

"What do you mean?" said Amu.

"Wishes aren't real," Madoka elaborated. "They're make believe; a lie to make people feel better about themselves and to convince them that everything is going to be all right. Even when it isn't."

"Why would you say that?" said Tadase.

"Because I'm not naïve like you are," Madoka said, standing up.

"Madoka-chan, that's not nice!" said Neve.

"I don't care!" Madoka snapped. "It's the truth."

"Umm, then can Yaya have it?" Yaya quietly asked.

"No, I'm throwing this garbage away," said Madoka, picking up her backpack and leaving.

"Madoka-chan!" her Guardian Chara cried, the two flying after her in concern.

**~҉~҉~҉~҉~҉~**

Madoka was in the park. The same park where she had first met Amu. It was a Saturday, no school, and she'd decided that she would spend the day taking care of the Onedari CD. She pulled the Onedari CD out from her small bag, and opened it to take the CD out. She looked the CD over, looking at its black sheen, the white "X" that lied on top of it, and the hypnotic shine it gave off.

Then she snapped it in half.

"That's a waste."

Madoka turned around to see a guy who she recognized as Ikuto.

"What are you doing here?" Madoka asked suspiciously.

"I just happened to be in the area," he said with a shrug. "Why did you snap that in half?"

"Hmm?" Madoka replied before realizing what Ikuto was talking about. "It's stupid."

"The music?"

"No, the rumor," Madoka specified. "That it will grant your wish if you have someone else listen to it within seven days of hearing it.  
"Wishes aren't real."

"What about the Embryo?" Ikuto said.

"Wishes don't come true," Madoka reiterated, "even if you have the Embryo."

"That's rather pessimistic."

"Why do you care?" Madoka snapped, touchy with the subject. Ikuto simply stared at her silently. "My father left us. I kept wishing and wishing, but he never came back."

"You don't need him, Madoka-chan," Ignis insisted.

"My father never came back either," Ikuto admitted, much to Madoka's surprise.

"So why do you hope?" Madoka inquired.

"What else is there?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is kind of bland. I guess I felt bland when I was writing it. Still, I hope you enjoyed.**


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